Inspired Rebel Living
“I’ve never seen any life transformation that didn’t begin with the person in question finally getting tired of their own bullshit.”
- Elizabeth Gilbert
Tired of my own bullshit.
What if an introverted kid who spends her childhood making art alone in her room and secretly wishing she had superpowers grows up to become a headstrong artist and designer with lofty dreams. Only to find herself forever stuck in a teeny apartment plagued by perfectionism and nightmares. That is, until the day she discovers that her sassy misfit attitude is a superpower for getting herself unstuck and inspiring others to do the same.
Yep, this is my story. My sassy misfit attitude kicked in when I got tired of my own bullshit.
Namely, I got tired of not letting myself dream big.
Even though I’ve achieved plenty of things I’m super proud of, somewhere along the way I decided playing small was easier than having big dreams.
And ya know where that got me? Stuck in a teeny-weeny apartment, that's where.
Turns out the Universe has a wicked sense of humor. My surroundings shrunk to match my desires.
The good news is I’ve figured out that perfection is a big fat lie. Yeah, I’ve become aware of how perfectionism has kept my joy on hold. Pretty much all my life. Yikes.
And now I’m learning to let myself dream big again.
The fact that you’re even reading this is proof that I’m getting unstuck and stepping into my truth. Because Twinki-Winki is the next level of my big self.
Ya see I’ve combined all my loves into Twinki-Winki - my art, design, fashion, and teaching. And by doing so, I’m finally giving myself permission to shine. Like this:
• Learning to overcome my perfectionism and fears about not being good enough.
• Reminding myself about how much I love having fun with fashion, and how expressing my personal style on the outside makes me feel braver on the inside.
• Figuring out how I feel about the world through storytelling and writing.
• Teaching about the creative process of art-making and inspired living.
Ultimately what keeps us from thriving is the fact that we are so damn mean to ourselves.
Our deepest fear.
If dreaming big is how we thrive, then living small is how we hide. So the million-dollar question is:
What keeps us living small in the first place?
And if you say we’re afraid to mess up and feel stupid, that’s not the real reason. And if you say we’re worried about disappointing others, that’s not it either. And if you say we’re not smart enough or wealthy enough or don’t have friends in high places.
Nope. Nope. Nope.
Those are the narratives we’ve invented to justify our fears. But they’re not the cause.
So what keeps us living small in the first place?
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
Getting unstuck.
My philosophy is all about getting unstuck and I like to call it inspired rebel living because that makes it sound all swanky. But honestly, it's pretty darn simple. It’s equal parts attitude, love of process, and satisfaction.
And it goes like this:
The more you like being you, the more you thrive.
Thriving is all about feeling ease. It’s about how satisfied we feel when we’re moving in the direction of our desires.
When we’re feeling stuck and frustrated about our lives, that’s a clear indication we’re not thriving. But you don’t need me to tell you that, do ya?
We all know how awful it is to feel small when there’s a deep yearning inside of you to dream big, act big, and love big.
That’s where inspired rebel living comes in.
Okay, so here are 5 ideas for getting your butt unstuck:
1. Express your creativity.
2. Treat yourself with kindness.
3. Be intentional about who you’re becoming.
4. Be in love with the process.
5. Let go of valuing difficulty as a measure of your worthiness.
1. Express your creativity.
Your happiness depends on how much you like yourself. Because when you like yourself, you can’t help but express your creativity. And that kind of freedom to express yourself feels really good.
But feeling good enough to like yourself requires a whole lot of honesty, compassion, and guts. You’ve got to learn to accept all of yourself, the light as well as the dark. Belonging to all of yourself means treating yourself with kindness.
And so, expressing your creativity is truly an act of self-love.
There is no right or wrong way for you to be you. We all go through life with our strengths and flaws. It’s all part of being human. And the more love you show yourself, the more love you’ll have to share with others. It’s just that simple.
Today you like being you.
Here's The Twinki-Winki Manifesto. Read that puppy out loud, why don't ya!
2. Treat yourself with kindness.
Loving life starts with being your own best friend.
Yeah, you gotta do stuff like forgive yourself for messing up. Let go when you feel stuck. Cheer yourself on when nobody else does. And treat yourself with kindness. Keeping yourself good company might very well be the hardest thing you’ll ever learn to do.
Be your own bestie.
We go through life loving others as a kind of practice. We’re learning to not only love and be loved by others but also to love being alive. To love life.
3. Be intentional about who you’re becoming.
Thriving is about owning your desires and living your values.
Your desires are what you want and who you want to be.
Your values are how you want to show up for yourself and others.
In other words, thriving means focusing your attention on who you want to become in the process of getting what you want.
Fabulous is as fabulous does.
Our desires always lead the way. All those things we want, we only want them because it’s fun to be on our way to them. It’s the process of becoming that thrills us. It’s what makes us feel grateful to be alive.
You’re in the process of making a beautiful life. This is your personal journey of transformation. It’s your becoming.
4. Be in love with the process.
Everyone has an inkling, a glimmer, of who they really are deep down inside.
It’s the way you feel about yourself when you’re doing something that feels so right that you know you were born to do it right now, just the way you are.
That glimmer of purpose is everything.
And it always happens when you’re expressing your creativity. To bring more creativity into your life, you don’t need to become a more creative person. You only need to give yourself permission to play.
Because you’re never stuck if you can play.
You can be creative in whatever way brings you joy.
5. Let go of valuing difficulty as a measure of your worthiness.
What you want, what you desire, is based on who you want to become.
In comparison, what you think you should be doing to get what you want is based on how you value difficulty as a measure of your worthiness.
You believe you need to bust your butt and prove yourself to be worthy of what you want. Without realizing it, you’re valuing difficulty as a measure of your deservedness. All the while, completely ignoring the fact that you’re already worthy.
Yep, accepting that you don’t need to bust your butt to prove your worthiness, frees up a lot of energy.
Let it be easy.
What’s required is not the discipline to work harder. What’s required is the discipline to remember what you want and to allow yourself to receive your good.
More reading for you on the Twinki-Winki HQ Blog:
• Super Luca And Your Real Superpower
• Creating Momentum For Getting Unstuck
• Expressing Your Creativity Is An Act Of Self-Love
• Permission To Shine (Pink Fairy, Part 1)
• How Perfectionism Has Kept My Joy On Hold (Pink Fairy, Part 2)
• Just For Today Is How You Play (Pink Fairy, Part 3)
• Flashback Series: Artist Life, Misfit Life
• Flashback Series: Go Ahead And Be A Monster But Don’t Forget To Smile
• Flashback Series: My Colors Inside
• Flashback Series: Are You Ready Little Caterpillar
• Curiosity Did Not Kill The Cat (What’s The Big Idea, Part 1)
• Why Your Job Is Just A Fabulous Excuse (What’s The Big Idea, Part 2)
• How To Woo Your Creativity (What’s The Big Idea, Part 3)
• Give Yourself A Creativity Reset: 4 Ways Collage Is Great For Getting Unblocked
• Why Decluttering Makes You Happy: Your 4-Step Decluttering Game Plan
• How To Roll With Your Flaws: Turning Your Weaknesses Into Strengths